Smith Memorial Arch
, Philadelphia, PA (1898-1912).]] Smith Memorial Arch is an American Civil War monument at South Concourse and Lansdowne Drive in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Built on the former grounds of the 1876 Centennial Exposition, it serves as a gateway to West Fairmount Park. The Memorial consists of two colossal columns supported by curving, neo-Baroque arches, and adorned with thirteen individual portrait sculptures (2 equestrians, 3 figures, and 8 busts); two eagles standing on globes; and architectural reliefs of 8 allegorical figures. History in the background.]] In 1891, Richard Smith (1821-1894), a wealthy Philadelphia electroplate and type founder, created a will which provided $500,000 for a memorial arch to be adorned with portraits of Pennsylvania's Civil War military and naval heroes. Smith deposited the model and designs for the memorial with the Fidelity Insurance Trust and Safe Deposit Company and stipulated that John B. Gest, president of Fidelity, should handle his request; that the architectural designs and construction should be handled by Philadelphia architect James H. Windrim; and that the selection and supervision of sculptors for the specified portraits should be handled by the Fairmount Park Art Association.Smith Memorial Arch from Historic American Buildings Survey. The will went into effect upon the death of Smith's wife in 1895, but it was not until 1897 that the Fairmount Park Art Association began work on selecting the sculptors. On May 8, 1898, the initial commissions were awarded, but it took until 1912 before the last sculpture was completed and installed on the arch.Smith Memorial from SIRIS. The Estate of Richard and Sarah Smith also funded the creation of Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse, in East Fairmount Park. Sculpture Statues *Major General George Gordon Meade by Daniel Chester French (atop south column).Meade statue from Flickr. *Major General John Fulton Reynolds by Charles Grafly (atop north column).Reynolds statue from Philadelphia Public Art. *Richard Smith (donor of the Memorial) by Herbert Adams (on pedestal of north column).Smith statue from Philadelphia Public Art. Equestrian statues *Major General George B. McClellan by Edward Clark Potter (atop south pier).McClellan equestrian statue from Philadelphia Public Art. *Major General Winfield Scott Hancock by John Quincy Adams Ward (atop north pier).Hancock equestrian statue from Philadelphia Public Art. Busts *Major General John F. Hartranft by Alexander Stirling Calder.For the eight portrait busts, the Fairmount Park Art Association decided that a uniform base was needed. The base designed by Alexander Stirling Calder for his bust of General Hartranft was chosen as the standard for all of the busts on the arch. Source: SIRIS.Hartranft bust from Philadelphia Public Art. *Major General Samuel W. Crawford by Bessie Potter Vonnoh.Crawford bust from Philadelphia Public Art. *General James Addams Beaver by Katherine M. Cohen.Beaver bust from Philadelphia Public Art.Katherine M. Cohen from AskArt. *Admiral David Dixon Porter by Charles Grafly.Porter bust from Philadelphia Public Art. *Admiral John A. B. Dahlgren by George Bissell.Dahlgren bust from Philadelphia Public Art. *Governor Andrew Gregg Curtin by Moses Jacob Ezekiel.Curtin bust from Philadelphia Public Art. *James H. Windrim (architect of the Memorial) by Samuel Murray.Windrim bust from Philadelphia Public Art. *John B. Gest (executor of Richard Smith's estate) by Charles Grafly.Gest bust from Philadelphia Public Art. Other sculpture *Two eagles standing on globes by John Massey Rhind. *Eight bas-relief allegorical figures by *The Memorial's frieze is carved with the names of 84 Pennsylvania veterans. *The Memorial's inscription reads: THIS/ MONUMENTAL MEMORIAL/ PRESENTED BY/ RICHARD SMITH/ TYPE FOUNDER/ OF PHILADELPHIA –/ IN MEMORY OF/ PENNSYLVANIANS WHO/ TOOK PART IN THE CIVIL WAR/ THEIR STRIFE WAS NOT FOR/ AGGRANDIZEMENT AND WHEN/ CONFLICT CEASED THE NORTH/ WITH THE SOUTH UNITED AGAIN/ TO ENJOY THE COMMON HERITAGE/ LEFT BY THE FATHERS OF OUR/ COUNTRY RESOLVING THAT/ THEREAFTER ALL OUR PEOPLE/ SHOULD DWELL TOGETHER/ IN UNITY.Inscription from Flickr. References *Fairmount Park Art Association, Sculpture of a City: Philadelphia's Treasures in Bronze and Stone (New York: Walker Publishing Company, 1974), pp. 168-179. *Penny Balkin Bach, Public Art in Philadelphia (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992), p. 208. External links *Smith Memorial Arch, from Philadelphia Public Art *Smith Memorial Arch, from Historic American Buildings Survey *Smith Memorial Arch, from Smithsonian Institution Research Information System Category:Monuments and memorials in Pennsylvania Category:Buildings and structures in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:United States military memorials and cemeteries Category:American Civil War stubs Category:Pennsylvania in the American Civil War